Zero: A New Legacy is Born
by Vincent Hales
Summary: Zero is gone from the world, sleeping in stasis until he will awaken in the distant future... But the present world needs a new protector to fill the void that his absence leaves... who will it be? X/Alia pairing later on... MMZ prequel. CH 5 IS UP!!
1. Prologue

Zero:  A New Legacy Is Born

Summary:  Zero is put in stasis so that he can ensure that he is virus free.  But, what will the world do without this Crimson Hunter?  Easy, they'll just have to settle for his replacement…

Disclaimer:  Do I have to tell you people?  {Zero points Z-buster} All right, all right!  Don't get all pushy.  {Much better.  I have him trained well, don't I folks?}  All right, here's the deal.  I don't own Capcom, and, as it would follow, I don't own any of there characters (X, Zero, Alia, Signas, Douglas… you get the picture, right?).  Don't sue me for having used said characters, as all you'll get is a couple of High School books.  There!  Ya happy?!  {Very.  And now, the story…}

Author's Note:  Please forgive me if I take time on updates, as I have VERY limited access to the Internet.  I'll get the updates to you as religiously as I can.  Please, be patient.  Enjoy.  Thoughts are marked like so blah.  Memories are done in _italics_.

Prologue:  It begins…

            I know that X may never really forgive me for this.  I have to do it, though.  He'll understand, but that won't make it any easier for him.  I'm sorry X, there's no other way.  I have to do this, thought Zero.  He was preparing to enter into his stasis pod for the long sleep that would cure him and make him safe for the world again.

            Zero, one of the greatest reploids that this age had ever known, was to go to sleep, and let this pod run all kinds of diagnostic programs on him, in hopes that he might cure himself of the dreaded Maverick Virus.

            In time, perhaps, he would be able to rejoin his comrade, X, and once again have the camaraderie that he was so privileged to have with his brother in arms.  "One day, one day, sooner than later, hopefully."  This was one of the final thoughts of Zero, the Crimson Hunter, as he lay in his pod.  As the pod began to take effect, Zero saw X run into the room, followed closely by Alia and Signas.  "Zero!  No, don't do this!  Stay here, with us!  We can find a way to cure you here!  Please!"  X pleaded his case, over and over, but Zero just closed his eyes, and a single tear dropped as he began his hibernation sequence.

            Zero said one final thing before his main power went offline, and he went to sleep this last time.  "X, I wish that this could have been done differently.  But, I've calculated the rate of program changes, and, I've determined that I wouldn't last long enough for you to cure me.  This is very literally, the only way.  I will miss you, my brother.  Take care.  I'll see you when I wake up.  At least you'll have Wy…." And, with that, the great Zero, was asleep.  To awaken when he is cured of the Virus.

            "What did he mean, 'At least you'll have Y…'?"  Asked X.  "What do you mean Zero?  Please!  Zero… no… why did you do this?  You promised.  You made a promise to me Zero!  You have to keep it.  Please…"  X couldn't bring forth any more speech, nor could he muster the effort to leave the room, for, with his last word, he fell to his knees, wracked with sorrow.  Alia and Signas exchanged knowing looks, and with a nod, Signas gave his orders.  He left the two, because he had one final thing to do, before Zero's sacrifice could be finished.

            As for Alia, she was left to take care of X.  The problem with that, however, was that, X was a sobbing heap on the floor right now, and Alia didn't know the first thing about healing a broken heart.  Lacking a better idea, she kneeled in front of X and took his hand in hers.  With her other hand, she brought his face up, so she could look into his eyes.  What she saw made her heart go out to this reploid, this warrior, this man.  His face was twisted in raw pain.  His eyes were so teary that he could not see.  So, he didn't see Alia lean forward to pull him towards her.

            X was startled at this, but, is just too tired to care, and so, he lets her hug him and comfort him, he needs it.  She begins to whisper something in his ear.  "X, it's all right.  I know how you feel.  Zero was like my big brother.  A real jerk sometimes, but like a brother."  This last, seemed to get something from X.  Alia continued, "The only thing we can do, is to honor him.  The only way we can truly honor him, is to continue the good fight.  He'd want it that way.  Please, X."

            Maybe it was the please, maybe it was what she said about the good fight.  Suddenly, X was able to move on his own again.  He looked up, and actually **looked** into Alia's eyes.  Now it was his turn to have his heart go to **her**.  He saw something completely different from what she had seen in his eyes.  In her eyes, he saw something that he had never known, never been given, never truly even understood, until now.  He saw love.  For one moment, they shared a lifetime.  The only contact the two had was their hands and their eyes.

            Clearing his throat, Signas startled the two "lovebirds" out of their reverie.  "If you two are quite finished, there is someone you should meet."  Exchanging embarrassed looks, the two get up off of the floor, and walk to the door.  Signas is already down the hallway, waiting for them at a secured door.  Alia exits the room, but hangs back when she realizes that X is still at the doorway of Zero's room.

            "X, we should go now."  X turns to look at Alia, and says, "I'll be there in a moment, I just have something I have to do, first."  Alia nods, and begins the walk towards Signas.  X turns back to the pod, and takes the few steps to bring him to its surface.  He reaches out, and touches the pod's lid with his fingertips.  He closes his eyes, and remembers the promise…

            _"Zero, promise me!  If I become a Maverick, you'll take care of me!"  Pleads X.  Surprised by this, Zero says, "Don't be silly X, just come home.  I'll see you when you get back to base."  "No, Zero, please!  Promise me!  Promise me that you'll take care of me if I become a Maverick!"  X desperately pleas to his friend.  "...... I promise, X.  Now come home."_

            That promise was made, before all this happened, but X is still afraid that Zero might need to come through with his word.  After all that has happened, I am afraid now more than ever that one day, I'll go Maverick, and no one will be able to stop me. thinks X.  "Zero, just be in time to stop me…"

            With that, X walks to the door.  He reaches over to the light panel and deactivates the light.  Turning around after leaving his friend, he touches the keypad that activates the door control, and shuts the door, leaving his friend in the dark.  X turns to walk to Signas and meet this mysterious new person.  He also goes now, to meet the future…

Final Note:  Hope you liked the first installment of hopefully many many more.  Please, Read and Review!  The more you like it, the faster I'll try to get the story out.  I know, the story begins kinda slow here, but, it IS the prologue…  Like I said at the beginning, be patient.  All will be revealed, in time.


	2. Wy

Author's note:  I am **_really_** sorry for not posting for so long, but my life has been effectively turned upside down since when I originally uploaded this story.  I won't go into the details, there are _way_ too many.  But, I will say that I should be able to upload at a bit more of a regular interval now.  Anyway, enough blabbering, on with the rest…

Disclaimer:  Once again, before Zero or anyone else can zap me, I will say that I do not own any of the Mega Man X characters.  I do not, have not, and likely _will_ not own any of them.  So there.  The only character I _do_ own is Wy.  She is mine and only mine.  If you want to use her, ask first.  My email should be in my profile, if not, I'll put it in there, I need to update anyway.

  
Chapter 1:  Wy

  
            Signas watched X come down the hallway, and saw that something had changed in him, something that may not ever come back.  He was … different somehow.  He wasn't sure if it was the way X walked, or if it was something entirely different, but Signas was sure that something was indeed different about X.  But he hoped that whatever it was, it would leave when X met her…  
            X walked up to Signas, wondering why he was looking at him like that.  What was that smile for?  He passed by Signas and entered the darkened room, his eyes immediately beginning to compensate for the darkness.  The room was too dark though, as all he could make out was two vague shadows in the room.  He called out for Alia, to find her amongst the shadows, and she answered him, revealing that she was the shadow closest to the door.  That left this other shadow… truly a shadow among shadows.  X could barely make the shape out.  Just as he thought that he could make out the shadow, the lights were flipped on by Signas, leaving both X and Alia blinded.  
            When X could see again, he wasn't certain that he was really seeing what he was seeing.  He closed his eyes, lightly shook his head, and when he opened his eyes, there stood a vision…  
            She had vibrant lilac eyes, and her long hair was a brilliant shade of scarlet red.  Her armor so closely resembled Zero's that in a dimly lit room, she might have been mistaken for him.  It was smaller, and more form fitting, with less hard edges, and more smooth contours, but it was startling how similar it was to his.  Instead of being red, this armor was black with her white and gold highlights.    
            The huge difference between Zero and this female reploid was the absence of the Z-saber.  Or at least, the absence of it in its normal place of holding.  Instead of being mounted for an over the shoulder draw, there was a mount for being drawn from a lower angle, for an initial upward strike, rather than a downward strike.    
            The control chip in her helmet was a pale shade of gray, as were the two jewels in her breast plate.  On her left shoulder was a gold insignia.  It was a stylized 'W' and 'Y' forming the name 'Wy'.  Her arms were slender, and where the usual bulge of a Buster was, there wasn't.  Yet, there were exhaust ports for the plasma exhaust of a Buster.  Her legs were this way as well.  Where there should have been a bulge for the Dash system, there was none.  Yet, again, there were exhaust ports for the system to perform dashes.    
            When X had finished examining this new reploid, Signas spoke from behind him.  "X, Alia.  I'd like you to meet Wy, Zero's legacy.  Before you two ask me anything, let me explain why you never knew about her before this.  Zero had left me specific instructions not to activate her until he had been either deactivated or would be gone for a very long time.  He had built her during his spare time, and he put her in your old pod, X.  Since it wasn't used, and the pod was kept in storage, it was the perfect hiding place, especially since it was still capable of keeping her in stasis."  
            "He updated her information from time to time, until this most recent of events.  She has his experience with a Z-saber, and she has been programmed with several of his personality quirks.  But, X.  He programmed her to also have two things that he believed were your greatest virtues.  Loyalty and honor.  In a way, she is the daughter that he will never know.  He left this letter for you, X.  And this was left for you, Alia."  He handed the two their separate letters, and waited for them to read them.  
            X read the words on the screen of the letter, and he felt tears well up in his eyes.  The letter said:  
            X, please understand why I have done this.  Please, don't mourn for me.  I will return.  There are much better things in this life to do.  I have left a companion for you.  She is my daughter.  I will likely not meet her until I awaken, so I am counting on you to take good care of her.  Her name is Wy, and she's going to be a lot like us.  She'll be a great help to you in the fight against Sigma, if he ever returns.  When I built her, I created a vaccine against the Maverick Virus that I carry within me.  That has been added just recently, as you might tell.  She should be immune to Sigma, and as such, will be able to help you in ways that I was never able to.  Her armor is made of the same material that repels my Z-saber and is tolerant to most forms of Busters.  She can take a lot of damage, and her system is built in such a way that if she ever falls beneath a certain power level, an Emergency Warp will bring her back to your pod, which has been loaded with a stasis field for her.  Please, don't tell her about the Emergency Warp.  The way it works, she'll never know what happened.  To her, it will seem as if she fell unconscious and she will wake up some time after the Stasis pod repairs her sufficiently to get her to Sick Bay.    
            I wish you well, and I pray that you carry on well without me these next several years.  I should be very disappointed to learn that you pissed your life away and became a sorry moper in my absence.  In which case, Wy will be perfectly justified in kicking you tin-can-butt all over MHHQ.  
            My brother, I would say that I will miss you, but as I will be in stasis, it will seem like only a few short moments have gone by.  But, I can honestly say that I wish you well during the time that I am gone.  Please, be well, and live life like you mean it.  
  
Sincerely,  
Your Brother,  
Zero Omega  
  
            X was crying silently at the end of the letter.  Zero's words repeated in his head as he stood there, silent.  He glanced over at Alia, who was also in tears, but she was smiling.  X wasn't confused about that, he knew what Zero had probably said to her.  X was broken from his reverie by Signas' voice.  "X, Alia, if you're finished, I'd like you to take Wy here for a tour of HQ.  Report back to my office after you've assigned her a room."  
            X and Alia stood for a moment, a bit unsure of how to do this next thing, when Wy spoke up.  "Are you two gonna stand there forever, or do I have to kick you out the door?"  Blunt and to the point.  Signas wasn't kidding when he said that Zero had put some of his own quirks into her…    
            As the three were leaving the office, Signas said one last thing to X.  "Oh, and X?  She's been assigned to your unit."  
  
  
  
End Note:  Like the last chapter, I desire feedback.  Feedback makes me happy.  It also tells me if I'm doing a decent job, or if I totally suck.  Please, be as brutally honest as you want.  But, my policy about flaming is this:  Don't flame unless you can prove that you can do better.  Thank you.  As with last time, the more feedback I get, the quicker I will act.  This time, I mean it.  Again, thank you for reading.


	3. Quality Bonding

Author's Note:  I can't guarantee anything, but I should be able to give an update to this story about twice a month.  I may do more, it all depends on if I find myself having this intense desire to write, write, write, and write some more, just for fun.  Oh, and did I mention writing?  Yeah.  The usual.  R/R and don't flame unless you can prove that you can write this story better than I can.  Real proof, too.  Thanks to all of the readers who have reviewed, it's appreciated, and I do take advice, so don't be afraid to offer any.    
  
Disclaimer:  Once again, I will say that I do not own any of the Mega Man X characters.  I do not, have not, and likely _will_ not own any of them.  One can only dream…  The only character I _do_ own is Wy.  She is mine and only mine.  If you want to use her, ask first.  My email is in my profile, so… yeah.  You know the deal.  
  
  
  
Chapter 2:  Quality Bonding  
  
            It had been nearly a week, and so far, nothing.  Wy had been assigned to the 17th for a lot of different reasons, and it seemed like sitting around and doing nothing was on the top of the list.  After Signas had given her over to X to tour her about the MHHQ facilities and to assign her a room, that had been the last she'd seen of X.  He seemed like he was avoiding her, and even though she really didn't know why he would be like this, she had a pretty good idea.  
            _That_ was why she had let this go on for this long.  But, enough was enough.  A girl can only take so much of nothing.  Aside from her room and the occasional visit from Alia, there was absolutely _nothing_ for her to do.  The firing range was off limits to her, as she wasn't authorized yet, something about "not knowing the capacity of her buster".  Feh.  It worked, that was all she needed to know, right?  And for some reason, she was restricted from the SDR (Simulated Danger Room).  All because X wouldn't get up off of his lazy…  
            She decided right then and there to get up and do something about her immense boredom and near suicidal cabin fever.  She would just have to go talk to X himself.  If she could just find him…  
  
            X, however, was not to be found easily.  He was a busy little blue bot.  He was, after all, the commander of the 17th unit.  But, that only leant a few things to his unavailability.  Really, what kept him from the public was his constant training in the SDR.  He had been doing it religiously for the past week, ever since Wy had been assigned under his command.    
            He was determined to become better, to beat his personal records.  He felt this insatiable need to be able to take up the "obvious" slack that Zero's absence was creating…  It was just this overpowering need in him.  It was like he was beating out his feelings instead of bad times and records.  
            X had become almost reclusive in the past week.  He only appeared in public just long enough to give his unit orders and to grab new paper work, while dropping off old papers.  He just could bring himself to face Wy, not yet.  He needed time to accept that Zero wasn't going to come back, not like last time.  There was no hope in this situation.  In all other scenarios, there was a chance, and a hope.  There were no chances, and there was no hope, either.  It was that simple  But, X just couldn't accept it, not really.  
            Zero had always been there for him, and had never failed to be a big brother.  What was he supposed to do?  How was X supposed to feel about losing his big brother?  Losing his only real family in this world, and being given this… memorial in his place.    
            That was all he could see when he looked at Wy.  All X could see was the free blonde ponytail, and the blazing green Z-saber.  The look of concentration, the fierce determination, the will.  Everything about her just made him remember Zero.  He knew that no two reploids could be the same, and that all reploids were created with all the basics, but those basics didn't include self help.  
            So every day, X found himself in the SDR, training and avoiding all his problems, like they weren't there at all.  He never had to think about Wy, or anything when he trained.  He just honed his reflexes and his speed, no thinking involved.  All action.  Too fast to think, too involved to slow down.  X would lose himself for hours and he'd wake up from his trance in the middle of the night, not aware that he had spent almost the entire day in simulations.  
            And so it would have continued, except for one thing…  
  
            "Wy."  He said it with such enthusiasm.  Oh, joy.  X didn't seem particularly ecstatic to see her.  He shied away from her, actually.  What is his problem?  She couldn't really keep herself from wondering about him, what he was doing here this early in the morning.  He looked like he hadn't slept at all last night.  Poor guy…  
            "X.  I've come to talk to you, maybe get some answers.  I dunno if this is the right time, but it's the only time I've gotten in the last week.  So, you're mine, blue boy.  Sit."  She pointed at the bench nearest them, and assumed a good stance for standing while he sat like an obedient puppy.  She stifled the urge, and went on with her intentions.  "X, I need to know.  Am I not wanted?  Is there something wrong with me, or what?!  I haven't _yet_ gotten access to any of the restricted areas.  I'm not cleared for weapons use, and I don't have anything to do but think, and that's gotten mighty boring by now.  I'm being treated like a prisoner!"  She didn't look finished, but she was waiting for him to answer her.  
            X looked stricken.  He wasn't sure how to answer her, caught between his painful perception of Wy and his responsibility to her (which was almost as painful as his perception).  He couldn't answer her, couldn't find the words at all, so he just sat there, silent.  She, however wouldn't take this kind of an answer.  "Damn it, X!  Answer me!  Is it because Zero made me?  Is it because I look like him?  Or are you trying to test my patience, because I can tell you right now, it's tested, and I'm gettin' mad.  All I want are some damn answers, is that too much to ask?"  She hadn't bothered being quiet or reserved.  Then, she drew back slightly, caught off guard by X.  
            He wasn't entirely certain why he was smiling, but he was.  It was as if some damn had broken within him, and all his pent up feelings came rolling out as if they weren't anything at all.  "Wy, you remind me of Zero, yes… But you'll never be anything like what he was.  What you're doing now proves that."  He said it without looking at her, still smiling, his face in shadows, giving him a slightly eerie appearance.  He rose from his seat, and approached her, feeling better and more confident about dealing with her.  "I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you for this entire week, Wy.  I just needed to get my head straight.  If I'd known that all it took was for you to yell at me, I'd have done this days ago."  He chuckled, blushing lightly while he scratched at the back of his head aimlessly.   
            Wy saw X in a new light now.  She saw what he must have looked like before all of this happened, what he was like with Zero around and before Sigma… He looked so young and naïve… He looked like he didn't really have a care in the world.  It was admirable.  But… "Oh, no you don't!  You're not getting out of it _that_ easily!"  
            X looked back at her, startled out of his moment, and was puzzled for a bit, gawking at her glaring at him with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot.  He looked at her like that for a brief moment, and then he suddenly remembered why she'd come out here to yell at him in the first place.  "Oh!  You want me to get you authorized!  Heh heh heh, sorry 'bout that.  Guess I kinda spaced out there."  X said it with a sheepish look and his light blush turned a bit more vibrant.    
            "Yeah, that'd be nice, considering that I've got nothing to do here.  Of course, I _could_ always find somewhere you guys don't use and make it into my own, private shooting range…  Yeah!  That'd be a great idea!"  She said it with a mocking tone, only half serious.  But her eyes were gleaming the entire time, and that was what gave her away.  
            X lifted his hands and said, "Whoa there!  I don't think we need to go blowing up HQ.  That's what Mavericks are for.  Besides, you can get authorized just fine.  All you have to do is pass the entrance exam…"  He said it with the barest of smiles, like it wasn't there at all.  
            "Oh, and what's that?  Do I have to run through an obstacle course, defend myself against hoards of simulated foes, and prove my field abilities in the SDR?"  She said it with the same tone, only it was a bit more mocking.  She expected this.  It was probably some stupid written test, followed by a quick tutorial about how to identify Mavericks, yada yada yada…  God, was it going to boring.  
            X watched her face while she said it, and he grinned at her.  He didn't say anything for a while, he just grinned at her.  Finally, creeped out by his gaze, Wy yelled at him.  "Hey, quit it you!  What is it?  What?"  He just laughed at her, shaking his head.  He started walking back to the SDR room, and beckoned her to follow him.  Then, as he was punching in some code, he said, "Well, you got everything right but one thing;  You have to defend yourself against me, too."  
  
  
  
End Notes:  I hope you enjoy this chapter.  I know, I know… not a whole lot of action yet, but as you can see, there'll be plenty of action next chapter!  It's the usual speech here… Feedback is good, good is great, great means faster uploads, more incentive, cause I have fans hanging to know what happens next.  Thanks for reading.


	4. X, Wy,

Author's Note:  I formally apologize for not updating when I said I would, but school was a priority, what with Finals and all, but now that I am out of school, I am free to write.  Now, I would like to thank my readers and their encouragement of this story.  I have a reason now to write this story… To stay alive.  You don't think that I'd still be alive if I stopped right now, do you?  My readers would kill me!  No, I have to keep writing because of self-defense!!  Seriously, though.  Without you, this whole story would just be for nothing.  Once again, if you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns, don't be afraid to put them in a review, or an email.  I accept all forms of criticism, except for flames.  Rule:  Don't flame unless you can prove you're able to write this story better than me.  'Nuff said.  
  


Disclaimer:  Once again, I will say that I do not own any of the Mega Man X characters.  I do not, have not, and likely _will_ not own any of them.  One can only dream…  The only character I _do_ own is Wy.  She is mine and only mine.  If you want to use her, ask first.  My email is in my profile, so… yeah.  You know the deal.

Chapter 3:  X, Wy, …

            Wy stood behind X, jaw agape.  She knew that X liked to give tough entry exams, but this was just short of murder!  Going up against the legend, the hero, X… No one does that and wins.  This was either going to be very short, or very long and drawn out, depending on how he was going to play with her…  She had this image of X toying with her mind as she ran the maze of simulated wasteland, defeating simulated Mavericks along the way.  She could see him playing with her like a cat plays with a mouse….  
            "Wy, hello?  Are you alright?"  Wy jerked to attention, embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming.  "Don't blow a bolt on me right now, you'll need all the help you can get in this course.  I'm choosing a factory setting.  They're will be plenty of Mav's to keep both of us busy for a bit.  Once we enter into the SDR, it's a free for all.  If you make it to the entrance before I do, then you can deactivate the Maverick sims, but you will still need to land at least nine non-consecutive hits on me.  Think you can handle that, rookie?"  X was hoping to goad her into competition, believing that she was similar enough to Zero that she'd fall for it.  She did.  
            "Bring it on!"  She wasn't sure what exactly made her say it, but she knew she meant it.  She stepped up to the door at X's side, and tried not to see X's face.  She was sure that she'd see him grinning at her, that stupid, naïve grin that he had that made him look so young.  But when she looked up at him, all she saw was a fierce look of determination… it puzzled her, but she didn't have time to piece together this particular puzzle, as X said simply, "Go."  His hand was pointed at the now open door, and the simulated danger that lay ahead of her.  She did what she was told, and dove headlong into the simulation.  
            X waited at the door for a moment, before hitting the command on the door to shut and lock behind him.  He walked into the SDR slowly, taking his time while he thought out loud.  "I promise, Zero.  I'll take care of her.  She'll be a Hunter unparalleled amongst her peers.  I promise."  And then, he dashed into the fray that was now the entire environment, skimming along the slight path left from Wy's passage, and making his own path…  
            While X worked his magic in the SDR, Wy was left to defend herself against the likes of some of the fiercest Mavericks that the Maverick Hunters had ever encountered.  Neon Tiger was among the first that Wy had had to battle, and she was surprised by the level at which he fought.  X must have turned the Danger settings up to just below 'Deadly Force'.  This won't be as easy as I thought it might have been.  
            Wy used her Buster sparingly, not even using her 'Saber.  She relied on her hand-to-hand capabilities, which was almost unheard of for a Hunter to do, not unless that was what they were specifically built for.  She blasted at the larger mavericks, and took out the small ones with precise, fierce attacks with both feet and hands.  She seemed able to hold her own up until she encountered Neon Tiger.  
            She shot a normal shot at him, and he blocked with his extended claws.  She took aim for a second volley, but didn't have the time as Neon charged in towards her.  She relaxed herself and lashed out with her hands and feet in a flurry of movement… she succeeded in merely stopping Neon's charge, but did no damage to him.  He grinned evilly at her, and said, "My turn."  His voice held all of the venom of a Maverick gone completely over to the Virus, and his next attack proved it.  
            Neon struck out with his claws and became a storm of motion.  His hands never stopped moving while his tail came up behind his back and shot a cluster of plasma charges at Wy, hoping to catch her unawares.  Unfortunately, she had not been caught unawares, not in the least.  What she was, was angry.  She was angry with herself for letting this go on this long, and she was not about to let this continue.  She had managed to dodge or block most of Neon's slashes, but she had taken damage from him.  She was not happy.  
            She tensed her legs and jumped back, being assisted by a brief burst from her Dash system, which flew her back to a distance that put her safely out of range of that last attack, and set her up for her next strike.  She ran at Neon, full out, and just as she was about to plow into him, she reached down to her 'Saber, and drew.  It came out with an initial upward strike, activating as she swung it, and lashed out in three quick, precise, and powerful strikes.  The 'Saber was returned to its holding place almost as soon as it had left.  And then, only then, did Neon Tiger drop to the ground, disabled.  His arms were severed, and a large hole was in his chest plate.  
            Wy looked down at her handiwork for a moment, and then moved on, using her Dash system to give her an extra boost to catch up for the lost time.  She moved on, completely unaware of the eyes that had been watching the entire battle unfold.  She rushed through the maze of debris and completely missed that X had been so close to her.  
            X, on the other hand, was rethinking his strategy for dealing with her.  Just watching how she dealt with the maze up to Neon had given him ample information to form a working plan for fighting her.  She fought the small mavericks hand-to-hand, which meant that she was conserving energy either because she didn't have much use for her Buster, or she simply liked to dispose of smaller mavericks like that.  The blast from the Buster, when she used it, reminded him of Zero's Z-buster, but it seemed like it had more range, and like it might have more power behind it if given the opportunity.    
            Her entire strategy with defeating Neon had been startling.  She fought so much like Zero that it was frightening.  She struck at all of the weak points and went straight for the kill spot, no lingering.  No waiting.  That was so much like Zero…  Her style was, however, so much different from Zero's that he had no idea how to counter most of her attacks, save by just not letting her attack.  She had a 'Saber, yes, and it could be blocked, yes, but she was so quick that being able to get his own 'Saber out in time to block hers would be nearly impossible.  He wasn't sure what would happen if she were allowed to close in on him with that thing…  He didn't think about it for long, though.  He dashed off, himself, to go find where Wy had gotten off to…  
            Wy, had indeed gone off somewhere, and was now deeply regretting not having taken the upper path.  This path that looked like a short cut, was indeed anything but.  She was forced to use her Buster to clear a path, time and again.  She charged up, and launched large bolts of plasma towards her enemies.  It cleared the path successfully, and she shot past the dazed and confused leftovers, disabling each with a quick blow to their control jewels.  She moved on and came to the mid-point of the maze.    
            It was a large area, with a few barriers here and there, but it was pretty much a straight shot to the other side.  This was too easy.  Wy didn't like it one bit.  But she didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter.  She shot forward, but juked to the right, just in time to miss a bolt of low-yield plasma hitting the spot where she had just been.  She looked up to find the source of the attack, and that was her mistake.  She was hit from behind with another low-yield plasma bolt.  The SDR damage readout flashed across her vision and told her that her virtual energy reserves were down by 2%.  The shot that was taken, low-yield as it was, registered in the SDR as a charged shot.  She was slightly surprised by how little damage she had taken from that kind of shot from X himself…  
            She had the inkling of a reckless plan beginning to grow in her head.  She figured that if she was trapped in here, so was X, because he would anticipate any escape, even his own, to be a possibility for her.  He was either driving for this to be the decisive battle, or he was just testing her.  He would soon learn not to do that again…  
            She finished her maneuvers, and rolled to the side, just in time to miss another blast.  She jumped up and Dashed backwards, in effect reversing her direction, and heading straight into the charging X.  It didn't catch him as off-guard as she would have liked, but she knew that he wouldn't be prepared for the next move.  She whipped out her Z-Saber, silently blessing her father for giving her his own, and she struck out with it, but it was a diversion.  She threw her weight into it, and did a flying kick directly at X.  
            It was enough to catch him in the shoulder.  He had been trying to block the impending 'Saber strike, and had failed to fully block her kick.  He managed to slightly deflect it, but that was it.  It completely knocked him out of his path, and he 'spun out' having to scrabble for traction on the ground below to keep from tumbling about. Wy, on the other hand, flipped gracefully down to the ground, and initiated her Z-Saber just in time to deflect three consecutive shots from X.  
            His look was enough.  He was impressed.  But she was still only a rookie.  He took aim above her, and fired a 'charge shot' that hit the wall, and caused an explosion of rock and debris to fall down on Wy.  She didn't even have time to dodge.  X stood by and watched as the rocks and heaps of dirt fell on her, covering her.  He lost sight of her eventually through the clouds of dust, but he watched the spot that he had last seen her in with the intensity of a hawk.    
            When the dust settled, and the debris stopped falling, he approached the mound of rubble, Buster at the ready, humming with a steady charge.  He let the shot go into the mound, loose, it would seem… but it had purpose.  It didn't make a mark on his internal sensor as a hit for him, so he assumed that she had gotten out of the rubble somehow… He looked about, looking up and down, side to side, getting a bit paranoid… when he looked up at the hole in the wall that he himself had made when he shot it.  There was, indeed, a hole.  A hole more than large enough for Wy to have gotten through…  This was going to be more difficult than he had thought.  She was resourceful.  
            Meanwhile, X may have been momentarily puzzled by her disappearance, but Wy was more than peeved at her condition.  Her virtual readout said that that rockslide had caused her more than 30% damage.  That was a large chunk, gone, wasted.  This scenario was designed to be a survival course.  She was now at a distinct disadvantage.  Her energy was much lower than his, and he was still at almost peak efficiency.  He would undoubtedly continue after her, likely setting up another ambush.  She was sure that that ambush she wouldn't walk out of.  It would be all or nothing.  Until then, she had nothing else to do but run through this labyrinth and see if she could find the end of it before X.  
            While she ran the maze and dodged the enemies, she thought.  What was it that X wanted out of this?  She knew that he wanted to see how good she was, whether she could do this… but, she got the feeling that he was searching for something, as well.  It was a feeling deep down inside of her, something that she just knew.  She couldn't help but wonder about it, but she didn't really give it any more thought.  It wasn't the mission at hand, so it didn't truly matter.  What mattered was not getting blasted by any of these damned Mavericks, and getting through this maze intact…  
            Wy ran the labyrinth with a renewed determination.  Each Maverick she encountered she dispatched with the utmost speed and efficiency, not having the time or energy to waste on them.  She found a sort of rhythm that she could move with, and she fell into a sort of 'autopilot'.  It was a serious mistake.  
            She nearly dove into the impending plasma wave; she was so sunken into her rhythm.  She recovered in time to dive desperately to one side, managing to barely miss being struck full on by the blast.  Her sensors registered the virtual heat from that blast, she was so close.  It was enough to rattle her and make her pay attention to the path before her.  
            What she saw was not comforting.  She might have preferred X to this ruffian….  It was Dynamo.  He had plagued both X and Zero for some time now, and to her knowledge, he was still at large, causing havoc, but managing to lie low, which was different behavior from a normal Maverick…  But her problem, though, was that he was here now, plaguing her.  She knew that on some occasions he had managed to surprise both X and Zero, and nearly defeated them on separate occasions…  
            He charged at her, and threw two plasma bolts at her from both of his hands, not appearing to have used a Buster of any kind.  She leapt high into the air, dodging the blasts, and engaged her Dash system in mid-air, coming down right at Dynamo.  She didn't have time for his antics, which was no doubt what he was here for.  Antics.  A stalling measure, nothing more.  Her headlong charge was welcomed with a wicked smile, and then Dynamo threw up both his hands and plasma lanced out from his hands, racing towards the charging Wy.  She unsheathed her Z-Saber and struck out at the arcing plasma as if it were something to be wrapped around her 'Saber…   
            Startlingly enough, though, the plasma _did_ wrap around her 'Saber and it arced madly from the difference in frequency between it and the 'Saber.  With her continuing momentum and Dynamo's total shock, Wy was free to attack.  She spun in a somersault, slashing outwards with the 'Saber, and she struck Dynamo with the "charged" Z-Saber.    
            The effect was almost instantaneous.  Dynamo was blown backwards by both the intensity of the plasma, and the strength of the blow.  He landed most unceremoniously on the ground about fifteen feet behind where he had been standing.  His armor was marred by the blow, and his control jewel was flashing the warning of low energy.  He looked up at Wy, bewildered beyond belief.  However, his eyes held fear, as well.  The words he spoke, though, were not those of a frightened man…  
            "Damn you, cursed spawn of Zero!  You will rue the day that you met me!  Your father was always far too meddlesome for his own good.  I will have my revenge!  If I must carve it from your damned hide, so be it!"  With that, he spat at the ground before Wy's feet, and warped out of the SDR.  It was then that Wy realized that this had been the real thing.  That had actually been Dynamo, not just a simulation of him…  
            She stood there, shocked from her encounter… but she couldn't let herself get distracted from the goal at hand.  She forced herself to move on, despite the obvious intrusion by the Maverick… Her path ahead was somewhat less crowded than before, either because Dynamo had had to destroy some of the Mavericks, or because someone else had…  
            She approached this new section with apprehension.  She didn't need to face X again, not this soon.  She wasn't sure if she could take another battle with him… He had already demonstrated a willingness to use the battlefield to his advantage.  And he was more than a match for her when it came to experience with battlefield advantages… He had seen so many battles, so much violence… He knew more than she could possibly be expected to know.  She was, after all, a child in comparison.  
            Her apprehension, it seemed, was unfounded, for she found a new wave of Mavericks waiting for her just past the crest of the hill that had blocked her view of his new section.  They attacked with the same, nearly predictable pattern as the rest had done, and she dispatched them with the same ease, but she kept herself from falling into a trance, having learned her lesson the hard way.    
            It seemed she might make it to the end of this twisting maze without having to face X again, but she caught sight of a blue blur in the distance, moving in a parallel path to hers.  She paused behind a large piece of machinery, keeping her eyes on the blur, and she activated her telescopic lenses.  She closed her sight in on him, finding that he was unaware that she saw him, and that she was watching him now.  She smiled, a tight twitch of the lips, really, and she started charging her Buster.    
            She leaned out to the side enough so that she could take aim at the moving blue target.  She sighted in on him, leading her target, calculating for molecular drift, and she let loose the massive shot.  Her virtual readout read that her energy reserves had gone down by 5% for that shot.  But it didn't matter to her, not if her aim was true.  
            She kept her eyes on her target, waiting for him to notice the bolt, waiting for him to dodge it, but he never did.  It took him completely broadside.  X never even saw it coming.  She was pleasantly surprised by this turn of events, checking her readout for how many strikes she had on him.  Two.  She had struck him twice, out of the required nine.  Her spirits faded slightly, but she leapt up from her hiding spot, checking X to see him searching for the source of his attack, but not finding it in the immediate vicinity.  Wy Dashed and kept on her path, disabling those Mavericks in her path, but reserving energy and not bothering with the ones far enough away from her not to matter…  
            X, however, had stopped his movements, and was running over his own virtual readout again.  It shouldn't be possible.  She didn't have any enhancements that would have made her capable of dishing out that kind of punishment!  His readout read that that blast had taken him down nearly 27%.  Counting the minor damages sustained from the Mavericks in the scenario, and the damage from his earlier encounter with Wy, he was down by 34%.  Nearly even to her own levels… if she was capable of that kind of output, then this battle might not be as clear-cut as he had thought.  What did you create, Zero?  What did you do?  X let his thoughts wander while he attempted to regain lost ground…  
            Wy, on the other hand, was within fifty feet of the secondary objective.  The problem was that there was someone standing between it and her.  She was frozen to her spot.  What stopped her from charging on, though, was not fear, or anything like that.  No, it was total and complete confusion.  She was totally taken aback by the figure before her, as he should not, could not possibly be there….  Her confusion was cut short, though, as X entered the scene and shot three bolts at her.  
            She dodged with a roll and an upward Dash, followed by a Dash that led her straight down.  The shot that had been launched to hit her in the air sailed past her, and she landed in a crouch on the ground.  She had time to look back to the spot that she had seen… Nothing.  There was nothing there.  No trace.  She let that problem slide to the back of her mind, as she needed to deal with X.  He kept back from her, launching volleys of three shots at her, keeping her in evasive maneuvers.  She kept moving, and she became aware that X was driving her away from the secondary control panel, the one to deactivate the Maverick sims…  
            She drew her 'Saber and deflected the next volley instead of dodging, and she charged, firing her own Buster.  Instead of firing charged shots, or even normal shots, she halved the power output and the Buster shot out like a machine gun.  The change delivered the expected result, and X was forced to dodge.  He stopped firing, and concentrated on dodging.  Even moving at close to top speed, he still got pegged by three shots, each one non-consecutive, which raised her score from two to five.    
            Wy kept firing at X, keeping him pinned down by her cover-fire, and she moved towards her objective.  It was on a raised platform, which required her to Dash jump to reach its top, but that required her to stop firing at X…  She took the chance, and Dashed up, praying that she could reach the top before he was able to take aim…  
            Alas, she was still five feet from the top of the platform when she was driven into the side of the plateau.  It was enough force that the platform had dents… enough for her to grasp and keep from falling, but little else.  Her reserves read that she was down to 48% vitals… She needed to find a way to win, and fast, or she was going to lose… Even as she thought it, she felt the lancing pain as another charged shot, this time more powerful than the last, hit her again.  Her reserves now read at 21%.  Her chip was beginning to flash slowly, warning her that her reserves were low.  
            She became desperate then.  She let go of the fragile hold she had, and Dash-kicked the wall at the same time, effectively launching her upwards, and almost over.  She needed just a bit more of a boost… In a way, she got it, but at a high price.  A shot from X lanced her, taking her down to 9% vital reserves, her chip flashing madly, the light flashing like a panicked bird trying to fly free of some imprisonment.  However, the outcome of the blow was that she landed on the top of the platform.  She was mere feet from the control panel.  She slowly dragged herself to her feet and reached forward to hit the switch when she heard a sound behind her.    
            She dodged, and the blast just barely missed her, but it totally destroyed the control panel.  Sparks flew and electricity arced from it, hitting both Wy and X.  The electricity damaged her to within 1% of her vitals, and it dealt X damage as well, but he was still standing.  She was barely able to keep herself kneeling.  
            She thought to herself, It can't end like this, I have to win.  I have to show him that I can be great…  Her words echoed in her head, and she attributed it to some trick of energy depletion.  When she heard the voice, she was almost sure she was hallucinating.  It couldn't be him… Zero?  **"Wy, you have to get up.  You can defeat X.  You need to believe in yourself."  **But, how?  I can't even stand up, I have so little energy…  **"Trust in yourself.  Believe you can do this, know that you can.  I believe in you…"**  Thank you.  
            X saw Wy, trembling from exertion, and he couldn't bring himself to fire that last shot, not just yet.  He saw her and he saw himself in her, in a way.  He saw his fierce determination to get the job done.  Then his external sensors read the impossible.  Her vital reserves jumped back up to 52%.  She stopped trembling, and shot straight at him.  He wasn't prepared for the sudden recovery, and so, wasn't able to block the 'Saber strike.  She didn't stop, she just kept moving.  She Dashed straight up, flipped and Dashed down again, this time landing behind X.  She blasted him with a briefly charged shot, and quickly Dashed to the left before he could get a bead on her and return fire.  She performed a double flip and reversed direction, landing and sliding on the ground, firing her Buster at half capacity once again, landing fifteen consecutive hits on X before he shot back.  
            The shot pounded into her.  X had apparently been charging since she recovered.  The blast took her back down to 29% vitals.  Her momentum had halted, and she was stunned from being pounded into the ground like that.  She recovered in time to get struck in the left arm by X's 'Saber, damaging her again.  She rolled to the left, believing that that would be less expected.  It worked, enough for her to draw her own 'Saber and counter attack.  
            X fired two shots then slashed at Wy, hoping to driver her back.  It worked, and she Dashed back from him, but she Dashed right back at him, giving him no time to regroup.  She slashed at him, and he blocked but the second blow was coming too fast for him to block.  He didn't bother blocking, instead he just threw himself back as hard as he could.  The second slash missing him by nanometers, and he was now lying on his back, watching yet another strike come from Wy.  
            He couldn't let her land another blow on him, she had already gotten him eight times, and the scenario was programmed to end if her vitals reached zero, or if she hit him nine times, non-consecutively.  He was almost out of options.  It was his fault, but by sheer luck she was attributed achieving the secondary goal, as he had destroyed it trying to hit her…  And she was so close to getting him…  He was out of options.  He had to do use it.    
            He rolled back, and tapped a control on his wrist-comm., deactivating his safety protocols…  He braced himself, and shouted his password/command code.  "Giga Blast!"  His Buster didn't even charge, just fed directly from his reserves.  His vitals fell to 7%, and his weapons reserves ran dry.  The Buster grew hot, and then it lanced out with its shot, just as Wy landed her last blow.  Wy's body was thrown off the platform by the blast, and her vitals reached zero.  
            X staggered back from a combination of her final blow and the Giga Blast.  His vitals read at 1.3%.  He was barely able to stand, let alone walk to the edge of the platform, but he managed it.  He saw her prone form on the ground below, but it wasn't any kind of victory he felt over her.  No, it wasn't that, since he hadn't really won.  Seeing her like that brought an empty feeling within him.  He saw her and felt empty, nothing else.  
            He touched a different button on his wrist-comm. and the environment around them faded away, leaving them in total darkness for a split second before reinstating the normal lighting.  The simulated damage that the two had sustained from the battle vanished with the simulation, and X was now at full strength, as was Wy.  She woke with a start, and sat bolt upright.  "What happened?  Where did that come from?"  X raised his hand, motioning her to still her questions, and he spoke.  
            "Congratulations.  You won the scenario.  You've passed your exam, and you are, as of this moment, assigned as First Officer to Unit #0.  Zero would be proud of you, Wy.  You fight very impressively.  Report to Unit #0's Unit Leader tomorrow at 0700 hours, and don't be late."  He didn't bother waiting for Wy to ask any other questions, he just headed for the exit, oblivious to anything other than what was raging inside his mind.  He paused at the door and, in barely audible voice, he whispered, "I wish you could have seen her, Zero…"  
            Watching X leave the room, Wy was almost hollow from the news.  She had beaten X.  She had met the conditions given to her…  She'd won.  In the back of her head, she could almost hear what sounded like a voice, but she ignored it…  The not-voice said, **"I was there, X.  I was there."  
  
  
  
**

**  
  
**End Notes:  Once again, I am _REALLY_ sorry for not updating any sooner, but my life has been hell with the end of school; Finals suck.  The chapter was originally going to be only six pages long, but I felt that I owed all of you more than just six pages for waiting for me for so long, so you got two bonus pages.  The next chapter will entail the results of this chapter, as well as introduce a new character…  Never before seen in the Mega Man X universe…    
And now for the usual stuff… Please read and review as I thirst for approval, or for any attention, as a matter of fact…  But that's just me… Read, review, I'll update more regularly, I promise.  'Nuff said.  Thanks for reading.


	5. Adjusting

Author's Note:  I hope that this chapter offers some answers to questions that were presented in the last chapter.  There will be some answers that will have to come in later chapters, as they are plot devices, but there will be a great many things answered and introduced in this installment of the story.  Once again, I apologize for not meeting my previous promised deadline (from chapter 2), and I promise to try to make that deadline from this point on.  Don't be afraid to give me a "poke" email, or even an email that is nothing but yelling at me to keep typing, I won't get pissy, I'll just accept it and work harder.  I'm not giving you people _permission_ to email me, no… I am begging you to email me with your personal comments, questions, and general gripes about my not working fast enough.  I need something to keep me on task on occasion…  Anyway… now for the might Disclaimer…

Disclaimer:  Once again, I will say that I do not own any of the Mega Man X characters.  I do not, have not, and likely _will_ not own any of them.  I own only those characters which I introduce as new additions to the Mega Man X universe, which are (so far), Wy, Reaver, and Celmet, as well as all other small bit parts that I didn't feel like covering in the disclaimer.  If you want to use any of them, email me.  You know the procedure.

Chapter 4:  Adjusting

  
            X had left the room, and Wy was still feeling her victory, but it wasn't as sweet as she thought it was…  No, she didn't feel the absolute joy of having succeeded against such harrowing odds.  She didn't _not_ feel happy, no, she was very jazzed about having won, but it was as if she couldn't bring herself to want the credit.  Like some part of her was thinking that this was only a job, that she didn't have to get all worked up over a job.  
            She wasn't sure of that, but she didn't get much time to think about it, not when the crowd that had been waiting, gathered to see this incredible fight, rushed through the doors as soon as they were opened by the unsuspecting X.  It was too late for him, he was swallowed whole by the group and, as good as he was at battle, he was no match for fielding questions…  
            X was bombarded by questions like, "Did you know the new recruit could fight like that?", and "What's her name?", and "Is she single?", as well as a fair share of "Who made her?", and "Where did she come from?"…  X was overwhelmed, trying to answer the questions as fast and as best as he could, but more kept coming, and he just couldn't keep up…  Poor X.  
            Wy, however, was not to go unnoticed.  She was about to face her own horde of "rabid Hunters" when one of the Hunters in question stepped in front of them and shouted out, "Leave her alone!  She's obviously tired from her fight, and the last thing she needs is to be badgered by a bunch of guys!"  
            The figure held his hands out in front of him, pleading the crowd.  The strange part is that most of them listened.  The few that didn't hold, soon faced the steely-eyed reploid in ice blue and gray armor that had stepped up in front of them, to back up the other Hunter's efforts at trying to stop the crow.  She was beautiful.  She had an unearthly glow about her, but she had an aura about her, something that told people that she was dangerous.  She wasn't exceptionally tall, but she wasn't truly short, either.  
            Her armor, while smooth and streamlined in appearance, upon closer inspection, would yield harsh lines in places that should have been smooth.  Those lines added to her dangerous glow…  Her colors ran in a pattern resembling X's color scheme, the ice blue covering the main armor, and the gray making up her under-suit.  It differed in a few key places, mainly in the helmet and the chest piece…  
            Her helmet formed an almost perfect triangle, the sharp edges adding yet more to her appearance.  The ice blue ran in lines that terminated in sharp points at the edge of the helmet, where her face showed through.  The sapphire blue control jewel rested where her forehead would be.  The helmet was all gray, except for those lines.  Her chest piece was primarily the same, except for a swell of the breasts, with a sapphire jewel in the center of the chest piece.  Ice blue lines ran towards that jewel in lines just like those on her helmet, ending in sharp points as they touched the jewel.  
            She turned her steely gaze to the remaining few, her gaze seemingly penetrating their very core.  She said, "You heard Reaver.  Leave her alone.  She has more than enough on her mind without your questions."  
            The remaining few Hunters stopped in their tracks.  A combination of fear and respect flowed across their collected faces.  The very person who stood before them was none other than…  
            "C…Commander Celmet."  The total awe and respect spoken within those words was enough to fill volumes.  This reploid had a reputation of being the best Hunter since X and Zero…  She was deadly and she knew it.  The problem was, she didn't seem to care that she was deadly.  It was just another part of her, as far as she was concerned…  
            She turned towards Wy and examined the dark Hunter.  She took in her colors and her appearance.  She seemed to think for a moment, and when it looked as though she'd finished her thought, she looked Wy right in the eye.  She stepped forward and said only one word.  "Stand."  
            Wy felt compelled to follow this order, compelled out of a need to stay alive…  She had an unexplainable fear of this one reploid.  It was much the same as staring down a wild wolf in its home territory, seeing that absolutely passive look in their eyes, seeing that they could just as easily kill you as leave you alone, and it wouldn't bother them a bit.  That was what Wy saw within her new Commander's eyes…  
            Commander Celmet stood in front of the now standing Wy, looking her in the eye, and she looked past the healthy fear that Wy was showing…  Celmet saw something that, evidently, she was looking for.  She smiled, barely a twitch of the lips, and she said,  
"You'll do."  
            With that, Celmet turned and left the room, the crowd of reploids parting before her, giving her a wide berth…  After she left, the Hunters present obeyed her orders and left Wy alone.  However, she had said nothing about X…  They went to pester him, leaving Wy alone with the one Hunter who had stepped forward to help her…  
"Reaver, was it?  Next time I need help, I'll ask for it."  
            She coldly brushed off the cobalt and gold hunter, walking past him and through the door.  She paused outside the door, feeling pity for X at having to practically fight his way out of that mob later, and letting her eyes slide past X to the rather confused looking Reaver…  He's cute…  She shook her head a bit, then left, walking down the hall to rest in her quarters, to think about what had happened during the battle…  
            Unfortunately, Reaver, as cute as he may have been, lacked a certain degree of telepathy, so he didn't know what Wy thought of him, nor did he know that Wy was like that;  fiercely independent.  The Hunter, whose cobalt armor, accentuated with gold highlights and a white under-suit, and startling brown eyes, felt and reflected a puzzlement all the way to his core.  Feeling the need to voice his confusion, he said, while shrugging his shoulders, "What'd I do?"  
            He removed his helmet, which closely resembled X's helmet in design, but instead of gold where the light blue would be, it was a darker, midnight blue, rimming his face, outlined with gold, with a topaz control jewel…  Underneath the helmet, though, his hair flopped down to his shoulders, released from the confined space, and now flowed freely in a frothing mass of honey brown and copper.  His skin color was much the same as his hair, but more a bronze complexion.  Closer to a rich tan, but it wasn't.  
            Where his Buster should have been, there was none, but he was not unarmed.  Resting on his hips were two disc-like weapons, with holes for his fingers to hold on to.  The edges were as wide as an atom's width, kept sharp by laser sharpening, as well as a slim Beam energy that encompassed them when in use.  The weapons looked like they might be thrown, or maybe used in hand to hand combat, but they looked a bit difficult to get the hang of, and not cut one's self up using them…  
            Reaver gathered his hair up, and he replaced his helmet.  He looked back at the now swamped X.  He felt pity for the Commander of the 17th Unit, but he knew that X could get out of it if he wanted to.  He knew that X didn't need any help.  So he walked out, walking to the Gardens.  He wanted to think, and then he wanted to ask his Commander what she had meant when she'd said that Wy would do…  He also wanted to analyze that strange reading that had come from within the SDR, wondering what it had been, where it had come to and gone just as fast…  He had a bad feeling about that reading…  
  
            As Reaver left for the Gardens, X had had enough.  He didn't feel like answering these stupid questions anymore.  So he did something that he'd never done before….  His body tensed, his eyes steeled, and his entire demeanor changed.  He spoke very softly, but his voice seemed to carry to every last one of the mob…  "Go away."  
            Commander X was now in full combat mode, his mind in the place it was when he needed to terminate Mavericks, and he didn't want to lose sleep.  His mind was in that place of white static, where everything was calm, and nothing mattered any more.  The place where he could do anything he wanted to, and he wouldn't feel guilt.  His eyes became a barren wasteland, like the cold landscape of the Antarctic.  
            The closest of the mob saw his eyes and they began to back off, some tripping over those behind them.  Some protests began to be made about, "What was the big deal?  Why'd you do that?"… Then X was seen, and all words failed the gathered Hunters.  Fear was not a word that could cover this emotion.  It was now something that closely resembled the instinct to flee, to stay alive.  They knew by looking at X that death followed him when he was like this, and they didn't want to have any part of it.  
            Quickly, the gathered mob dispersed, and X was left standing by himself, just inside the doors of the SDR, still in combat mode.  He stood there, quiet and peaceful, but very dangerous.  And then, one straggling Hunter came through the doors, late for having to have put her console on autopilot.  "X!  I missed it didn't I?"  
            Alia stepped closer to him, completely missing the tenseness of his body, the total difference in his demeanor…  She touched his arm, and X looked at Alia, slowly.  His eyes met hers, and she gasped as she stumbled back.  X's eyes were no longer the calm, barren wasteland that they had been, but they were a solid blue fire…  "X!  What's wrong?"  
            X looked at her for a moment, cocking his head to the side, measuring Alia, before his conscious mind took over again, and his eyes bled to normal.  He shook his head, stumbling a bit, and he looked around…  "Wha?  What happened?  Where did everybody go?  Alia?  What are you doing here?"  His eyes were once again just eyes, and they searched Alia's eyes, seeing the fear from them, and he was hurt by that fear.  
            "What did I do?"  He said it so quietly that Alia barely heard it.  She stepped closer to him, almost hesitantly, reaching out to him, her eyes fixed to his.  "X?"  Her voice was just as soft as his, but her eyes weren't confused anymore.  They held a combination of relief and something akin to heartbreak…  Her hand touched his cheek, softly, almost as if she were afraid that he would disappear if she touched him too hard, like he would pop…  
            Upon feeling Alia's ginger touch, X closed his reached up to take her hand in his.  "What's wrong, Alia?  What's got you so spooked?"  His voice carried genuine concern, and his eyes reflected the same.  He held her hand firmly, but didn't draw her to him.  He just held her hand, and met her eyes.  Her eyes fixed on his, Alia took a step closer to him, placing her other hand on his chest.  She broke the eye contact and looked down, at her feet.  
            "X…  I worry about you.  Sometimes you scare me.  I know you don't mean to, but you do, just the same.  But…  I…"  She was about to finish, but she was interrupted by a hearty "cough" at the doorway, behind her.  Both she and X were startled, and began to lightly blush, as if they'd been caught doing something meant to be kept behind closed (and locked) doors…  
            "If I might steal Commander X away from you, Alia?  I have some pressing matters that have come up that need X's attention.  Unless, of course, you've got something that he needs to, ah, 'address'…?"  Signas always was a smartass...  But, all the same, he had a point.  She didn't need X.  So she stepped aside, wordlessly.  She just seemed to say to him, with her eyes, "I need to talk to you, later."  X didn't acknowledge it, but he knew where he could find her later.  
  
            In her quarters, Wy gave serious thought to all that had happened in the past few hours.  She'd managed to complete what had at first seemed like an impossible task… Well… maybe not impossible.  Just really damn hard!  She'd been removed from X's unit, and given the rank of First Officer of her father's old unit.  That was only a little surprising.  I was wondering how long it would take X to get rid of me…  And being stuck into #0 Unit, well, that was inevitable.  I knew that was going to happen sooner or later.  But… as First Officer?!  She'd defeated Dynamo the very first time she'd ever met him.  Weird thing was, even though he was real, his attacks registered as VR…  Why was that?  … … OH!  That room is set up to affect _any_ reploid's system, not just the ones that enter in at the beginning of the scenario!  Because he came in during the middle doesn't mean that his weapons would have been real, because he, like me and X, would have been reduced to minimum output, and the SDR would do the rest, making the damage 'real'.  I get it now…  Wy's thoughts kept her thoroughly occupied during the next hour or so…  
  
            Meanwhile, Reaver had been sitting in the Gardens, doing his own thinking.  He was thinking about that strange signal that he'd seen on Alia's console before he rushed down to the SDR.  It had shown up on the radar as what looked like a modified warp signal, but it had been so damned fast…  Then it came again, this time going the other way, not five minutes after the first occurrence.  It had to have been the same signal...  
            But what _was it??  Where did it come from in the first place?  How did it, whatever it was, slip through the defense grid?  I don't like how easy that thing did what it did…  I'm going to tell Commander Celmet as soon as I find her.  She'll know what to do.  
            His mind made up, Reaver stood and turned around, only to stand face to face with Alia, the very tech who's console he'd been peeping at…  She had always hated it when he read her console over her shoulder, or worse, when he read over her head…  She'd told him that she didn't like having him ask her all sorts of questions about her work, even though she knew that he was probably the only other Spotter in the entire MHHQ that was as good as her…  Though, he'd retired from being a Spotter, and opted for becoming a Hunter.  
            He'd had to learn how to use those dangerous discs of his in order to do it, but he'd become a fairly decent Hunter.  Good enough, at least, not to get his butt shot off whenever he went out in the field…  She'd mentioned to him, in passing, that she often wondered about what it might be like to go hunting herself…  She wasn't equipped with a Buster either, so she'd have to learn some sort of weapon herself…  He just didn't' think that she had the dedication to violence to want to learn that stuff.  She didn't have any reason to want to learn anything like that.  She seemed comfortable being a Spotter.  But still… She mentioned often that, despite the apparanant difficulties, she thought about what it might be like… if she were a Hunter…  
            Feeling that he needed to break the silence, he said, "Uh… Hi.  Did X ever get himself unburied from his adoring public?"  It was an innocent enough question.  Reaver didn't really care, but it was polite conversation…  However, the look from her made him rethink how polite his question may have sounded…  "Uh, did I say something wrong?"  He was really confused by how she was acting.  
            Her eyes were starting to get a little watery, she trembled a bit, and she looked startled…  It was as if X had… done something to her…  Or maybe…  Aw, no.  I hope it's not that…  He decided to go for honesty and try to be helpful…  "Alia, did X turn you down?"  SMACK!  Her open palm slapped across his face, which was unguarded as he'd taken off his helmet and still held it in his hand.  The resounding impact didn't really hurt all that much, but it was sure as hell surprising!  
            Alia **_glared_ at Reaver, then she ran off in the direction of her room.  This left Reaver standing there, rubbing his cheek, and confused, for the second time in less than an hour.  This was _not_ a good day for him…  
            He shook his head slowly, letting whatever was eating Alia go, it wasn't his problem, and she obviously didn't want him to help, and he had the mark to prove it.  He just gathered his hair and put his helmet back on, the hair fitting snugly beneath the helmet, and he walked back to #0 Unit's meeting room.  It was where the Commander spent most of her time…  He'd just go tell her about what he'd seen, so she'd either report it to Signas, or think about it on her own.  She did that.  A lot.  
  
            X's attention was indeed needed for matters _most_ pressing…  Signas needed X to report to Douglas for his monthly refit, and then to Lifesavor, for his monthly EVAL (Epsilon Virus Assimilation Level).  Those things were a pain.  He'd heard that human woman dreaded having something called a "Pop's mear" (whatever that was)…  They didn't know how easy they had it…  An EVAL could take all **__day if Lifesavor found something he didn't like.  All that trouble just to get a stupid number about a weird vaccine for a virus that barely even existed anymore.  
            Joy and rapture.  I just love my EVAL's…  The refit isn't all that bad, but the EVAL sucks major cookies.  I wish they'd just abolish that damned thing!  X thought crossly as he entered the R&D room for MHHQ, seeing Douglas, as usual, working on something _else_ that one of the Hunters had broken (for all he knew, it might have been him!).  
            "Douglas.  I'm here for my refit.  I've got ten minutes, then I've got to get to Lifesavor…"  X didn't need to say __any more.  Douglas immediately knew.  He piped up with his own opinion on the subject, even.  "Y'know, that test is just silly.  It's plain silly.  Why does anybody need it anymore?  The Mav Virus is so rare anymore that anyone who contracts it will be affected within an hour of having caught it!  I mean, it's not like these stupid EVAL's are saving us, or anything…  Like that stupid vaccine will actually work.  HA!  Oh, sorry, X.  I'm rambling, aren't I?"  
            X just nodded, but he was smiling.  He knew Douglas fairly well now, and he didn't mind Douglas' habit of talking excessively.  It was actually kind of comforting.  He liked it, in a strange, friendship kind of way.  "Don't worry about it, Douglas.  I don't mind."  X smiled to prove his point.  
            "Oh, that's good.  I'd hate to annoy you.  I mean, you're, like, the only person who puts up with me and my talking anymore.  Even Signas tells me to shut up.  He used to let me talk all the time.  I enjoy talking, it fills the silence and passes the time.  It's a lot better than silence, don't you think?  Yeah.  Me too.  Oh.  I'm finished now, X.  You should probably better get going to your, ah, appointment.  Good luck."  
            X smiled, and stepped off the refitting station.  He walked out of the R&D room, and soberly walked to his inescapable destiny.  The enemy that even Sigma would rather run from!  The cruel and unusual punishment!  The horrible, ill fate! … …  
            X got so caught up in his musing that he blurted out his next line as walked into the Infirmary.  "The horror!  Oh, the horror!"  An annoyed voice broke X from his reverie, and into an embarrassed silence.  "Oh, be quiet X!  It's not _that_ bad!"  Though, X had a hard time believing Lifesavor.  It probably had something to do with the rubber gloves and the various and assorted probes and needles…..  Oh… Joy.  
  
  
_

End Notes:  Sorry for not getting this out sooner, but I had a major case of writer's block for half a week, and it was in the MIDDLE OF THE FRICKIN' STORY!!!  Argh!  Don't you just hate when that happens??  Anyway.  You know the drill.  Now that you've read the story, please read, and I'll use the feedback and be a happy little FF.net author…  
Next chapter:  Life after EVAL.  Life after Alia.  Life with …  A new character.  Gotta keep reading to find out more.


End file.
